What lessons can we learn from community-based adaptation approaches using Ag-techs to enhance smallholder farmers adaptive capacity?

• by MSC
• May 25, 2023
• 3 min

Timestamps of the webinar on “What lessons can we learn from community-based adaptation approaches using Ag-techs to enhance smallholder farmers adaptive capacity?”. Click on the image below to experience the complete webinar.

CRAg VC’s East Africa chapter brings together AgTech startups, investors, NGOs, and donors to strengthen smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate change in the region.

The CRAg VC is an interactive collegial platform for promising tech-enabled startups, investors, practitioners, and growth-stage entities. The virtual club seeks to provide a platform to voice their thoughts and ideas to generate solutions, upscale them, and strengthen climate resilience for smallholder farmers.

The fourth edition of our climate resilience in agriculture, East Africa Chapter, was held on 30^th March 2023. Our eminent panel of experts featured Sabdiyo Dido, the Head of Gender and Inclusiveness at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and Timoth Wafula, an Agribusiness and climate change consultant. Their conversation focused on the following:

1. The opportunities and challenges of using community-based adaptation approaches in East Africa to build the adaptive capacity of smallholders, and
2. Emerging lessons from the successes and failures of community-based adaptation approaches that use AgTechs for climate-resilient agriculture in East Africa.

Click on the timestamps from the webinar stream to hear specific segments.

00:00 – 07:58 Welcome note and introduction of the topic to be discussed and panelists for the webinar by Anup Singh, Regional Head-Africa, MSC (MicroSave Consulting)

07:59 – 55:05 – A panel discussion: Conversation with the panelists, moderated by Anup Singh, Regional Head-Africa, MSC

Panelists:

• Sabdiyo Dido: Head of Gender and Inclusiveness at AGRA
• Timoth Wafula: Agribusiness and climate change consultant

08:37 – 15:03 Sabdiyo Dido: Head of Gender and Inclusiveness at AGRA, responds to question 1: What are the opportunities and challenges of using community-based adaptation approaches in East Africa to build the adaptive capacity of smallholders?

15:20 – 21:35 Timoth Wafula: Agribusiness and climate change consultant responds to question 1: What are the opportunities and challenges of using community-based adaptation approaches in East Africa to build the adaptive capacity of smallholders?

23:00 – 27:06 Sabdiyo Dido responds to QUESTION 2: How do we harness the local knowledge of farmers and combine it with digital technologies to create more climate smart adaptation technologies?

27:53 – 33:15 Timoth Wafula responds to question 2: Should tech-enabled solutions that farmers deploy and use in local communities be funded privately or by donors?

34:05 – 40:05 Sabdiyo Dido continues to respond to Question 2: How do we harness the local knowledge of farmers and combine it with digital technologies to create more climate-smart adaptation technologies? How can we make incentives more tangible for local communities?

40:10 – 48:09 The panelists respond to a round of questions from the audience

Question 1) A critical element of advancing community-based adaptation is a focus on learning and flexibility in how programming takes place at the local levels. Have you seen instances of greater willingness among funders to accept this need for flexibility and learning as critical elements of adaptation programming?

Question 2) Climate impacts can be variable and localized, even within countries and districts. How can we realistically generalize and replicate solutions even if they are developed within Africa?

Question 3) How can we ensure the benefits of CBA interventions are distributed equitably and that marginalized groups are not left behind?

48:33 – 55:04 The panelists share their concluding remarks

55:21 – 57:15 Anup Singh, MSC Africa – Regional Head at MSC, presents the concluding remarks.